The links below will take you quickly to the topic you want on this page:
Student meals
By showing your Finnish student card, you will get a discount at student cafeterias. A student lunch usually costs around €2.70.
Campus restaurants at the University
The opening and lunch hours at the cafeterias are as follows. Weekly menus can be found by clicking the restaurants name.
Cafeterias at Sibelius Academy:
M-building: Restel/Music Centre Restaurant
- avoinna ma-pe 11-14, la-su kiinni
N-building: Restaurant Tempo (in Finnish)
- avoinna ma-pe 8.30-16.00, la-su kiinni
- lounas noutopöydästä ma-pe 11.00-13.30, tuettu lounas 11.00-15.00
R-building: Café Feeniks
- suljettu toistaiseksi
Cafeteria at Theatre Academy
TeaK: Amica Teak
- open Mon-Thu 8:30-17:00, Fri 8:30-16:00
- lunch Mon-Thu 11:00-17:00, Fri 11:00-16:00
Other student restaurants
You can also eat in the student cafeterias of other universities for €2.50-2.70. Student cafeteria UniCafe has many restaurants all over Helsinki, the nearest one in the city centre. They have good websites in English, www.unicafe.fi/en/
Also, several Fazer Amica restaurants provide student lunches. Amica restaurant locations and menus can be found here.
In addition, you can find a student lunch at Hämäläis-Osakunta Nation Bar, which is located next to Tavastia on Urho Kekkonen street.
Public Transport
Local traffic (HSL)
The Helsinki metropolitan area public transport uses a travel card or a mobile app. It acts as a means of payment in the public transportation of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa and a few other neighbouring cities. As a travel card holder, you are able to travel smoothly from one city to the next, hop from a bus to a commuter train and travel in the metro, tram and Suomenlinna ferry in Helsinki. Starting from spring 2019, travel prices are based on zones instead of city borders – you can find more info on the zone system at HSL’s website.
Travel cards are personal and you can load them with either time (season ticket) or money (value ticket). The travel card can be loaded at HSL service points and ticket machines, VR sales points, Helsinki region R kiosks and also in some grocery shops. You can find the closest sales point online at www.hsl.fi/en/tickets-and-fares/sales-points.
Students permanently residing in the greater Helsinki area can load their seasonal card with a 45% student discount, the card itself costs €5. Those residing in the greater Helsinki area temporarily are not entitled to student discounts (with the exception of exchange students) and they can only purchase a holder-specific travel card. If you are residing in the Helsinki region temporarily, notify your local registry office of your move and you will be given a certificate of your residency so you can purchase a travel card. More information: www.hsl.fi/en/tickets-and-fares/discount-tickets/students.
In later study years, you can update your right to receive the student discount in any service point by showing your student card with a valid year sticker. If you do not have a student card, you can get a discount by taking a form from your academy's study services to the HSL service point. To avoid long queues in the beginning of term, HSL has also organised temporary service points for example at the University of Helsinki main campus.
More information: www.hsl.fi/en
To find the fastest route to any location in the greater Helsinki area, use HSL's route planner: www.reittiopas.fi
Other traffic
Student discounts are available in trains by showing your student card (if you have not yet received your student card, ask VR for more information). You must always show your student card when purchasing your ticket and upon ticket inspection. Your student card must have a valid year/term sticker. More information: www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/frontpage.
Most long-distance buses give you a student discount depending on the busing company. The discount is given when you show a valid student card when purchasing the ticket. The Onnibus company offers no student discounts but provides very cheap bus connections to several cities in Finland. Additional information: www.matkahuolto.fi/en and www.onnibus.com.
Student Financial Aid
Opintotuki koostuu opintorahasta ja opintolainan valtiontakauksesta. Suomessa vuokralla asuvat opiskelijat voivat lisäksi saada yleistä asumistukea (ks. alla). Opintotuen tarkoituksena on turvata opiskeluaikainen toimeentulo. Myöntämisperusteita ovat päätoiminen opiskelu, opinnoissa edistyminen ja taloudellisen tuen tarve. Lisää tietoa opintotuesta löydät Kelan sivuilta www.kela.fi/opintotuki sekä Artsista: Opiskelu > Opiskelijan arki ja hyvinvointi > Opintotuki ja muut etuudet. Tarkista aina oma henkilökohtainen opintotukitilanteesi Kelasta – opiskelijatoverisi tilanne voi olla erilainen!
- Study grant is a state-subsidised benefit paid monthly. Study grant is considered taxable income. The amount of the study grant depends on what type of school you attend, your age, whether you live independently or with your parents, whether you are married and whether you have children. The study grant payable to a student who is living independently and doesn’t have any children is €252.76 as of 1 August 2020.
- The student loan is a government-guaranteed loan that you must pay back. If Kela gives you a loan guarantee you can apply for a loan at a bank of your choice. The interest payable on the loan and the repayment schedule are agreed between you and the bank. The maximum amount of student loan granted is €650/month and €800/month for studying abroad. You do not have to use the loan guarantee if you don’t need it. It is advisable that the student asks for offers for a student loan from different banks, because the loan conditions between the banks may vary. It is important to read the loan conditions carefully.
- Any changes to your circumstances after you have filed your student financial aid application must be reported to Kela without delay. The easiest way to report the changes is online via the e-services on Kela’s website (www.kela.fi/web/en/students). Any extra or groundless benefits will be reclaimed.
- The number of months you are eligible to receive student financial aid depends on the extent of the degree you are studying towards and on when you began your first course of higher education studies.
- Student financial aid will be first granted for your Bachelor’s degree, based on its extent. Once you have completed your Bachelor’s degree, you will be granted the number of financial aid months that are left from the maximum number of months for the completion of your Master's degree.
- University students who study full time during the summer and complete studies towards their degree can upon separate application be granted financial aid for the months of June, July and August. Please note that financial aid received during the summer months will count towards the maximum number of months granted. You can apply for financial aid for the summer months online at Kela’s e-services page or by filling in a “notification of change” form.
- If you get ill during your studies, you can go on sick leave. During the leave you can be paid sickness allowance instead of the student financial aid. More information: www.kela.fi/ web/en/eligibility-sickness.
NOTE: Student financial aid, like other social benefits in Finland, require Finnish citizenship. If you are not a Finnish citizen, you may still be entitled to student financial aid in Finland if:
- you are registered as a permanent resident in Finland in the population register system and
- asumisperusteesi Suomessa on jokin muu kuin koulutus (esim. työ, perhe tai paluumuutto). Lisätietoja opintotuesta täältä: https://www.kela.fi/web/en/financial-aid-for-students.
Study progress
In order to receive student financial aid, you must make progress in your studies. If you have not earned enough credits, you will be sent a request for clarification on insufficient progress of studies by Kela or Student Financial Aid Committee. Please reply to the request and state why you are falling behind with your studies. You can continue to get financial aid if your progress was slowed temporarily because of an acceptable reason. Such acceptable reasons are e.g. the illness of a close relative or an otherwise difficult life situation. Kela or Student Financial Aid Committee may also require that you complete a given amount of studies in a specified period of time.
Your financial aid will be discontinued if:
- you do not reply to the request, or
- if the reasons you stated in your reply are not deemed adequate.
The student financial aid may be recovered from you if you have completed a particularly small amount of credits or if it’s apparent that you have had no intention of completing studies. You can choose to cancel the aid or pay some of it back if you want your academic progress to be monitored during a shorter period of time. It’s best to cancel the aid if the academic year is still ongoing and your academic progress has slowed down. More information: www.kela.fi/web/en/study-progress-higher-education.
If you take out a student loan while in higher education and you complete your degree within the target time, you may be eligible for a student loan compensation. The student loan compensation means that Kela pays back part of your student loan. The compensation is only available to higher education students who began their first course of study in higher education on or after 1 August 2014. More information: www.kela.fi/web/en/student-loan-compensation.
Income supervision
Kela takes into account the income that you have earned during the year. Such income includes:
- wages and salaries
- taxable social security payments and financial aid for adult students
- dividends
- rental income
- survivors’ pensions
- holiday pay and fringe benefits
- freelancers’ fees
- reservists’ fees.
In addition, grants and scholarships are considered income in the income supervision. However, grants and scholarships associated with international student exchange programmes are not taken into account. The study grant, housing allowance and student loan do not count as income.
Your annual income limit depends on how many months of student financial aid you have collected during the calendar year. Your income is not checked when your financial aid is paid, and therefore you must see to it yourself that it does not exceed the allowed limit. Your income will be checked once your taxation data has been completed. Any excess aid paid to you will be recovered in accordance with the Student Financial Aid Decree with a 7.5% interest. You can avoid this by voluntarily paying back the excess amount of student financial aid, which has to be done by the end of May in the year following the year you collected the aid. You can check your annual income limit and cancel or pay back overpaid aid on at www.kela.fi/web/en/income-own-income.
General housing allowance
Students renting an apartment in Finland can claim general housing allowance. The general housing allowance is granted to the household collectively. The housing allowance is determined by reference to the number of adults and children in the household, the municipality in which their home is located, and their monthly income before taxes.
A household can comprise:
- Close family members sharing a home (married or cohabiting spouses, parents, children, grandparents)
- A household member's spouse who lives elsewhere and children under the age of 18 years
- The persons having rented a home under a joint rental agreement
- Persons having rented a home under separate rental agreements, if the agreement or an appendix thereto specifies that they are jointly responsible for paying rent.
Not part of the same household are, for instance:
- Persons having rented a home under separate rental agreements, if they are not close family members or if the agreement or an appendix thereto does not state that they are jointly responsible for paying rent.
- Main tenant and subtenant, if they are not close family members.
Note: Kela considers all persons who have rented a home under a joint rental agreement to be of the same household. For this reason, when you are living in a shared apartment with flat mates, it’s advisable that everyone has their individual rental agreement so that the tenants aren’t considered to be of the same household when Kela calculates the household’s total income. In a shared apartment where all tenants have their own rooms and separate rental agreements, the tenants are not considered to be living in the same household and can each apply for housing allowance independently on their own.
You can check the amount of your housing allowance using the calculator at Kela’s website:www.kela.fi/laskuritWhen determining the amount of the housing allowance, the person’s income is taken into account in the calculations either as continuous income (regular monthly income) or average income (monthly average calculated based on the annual income, applies usually to students and freelancers). Study grant is counted as income when determining the amount of housing allowance, while student loan is not. Housing allowance is not taken into account in the income supervision. Housing allowance is also paid during summer months, even if you don’t complete studies during that time.
More information: https://www.kela.fi/web/en/general-housing-allowance.
Health and Wellbeing
Finnish Student Health Service (FSHS)
Finnish Student Health Service FSHS offers general health services, mental health and oral health services for students in higher education. In addition to healthcare appointments, FSHS is involved in a wide range of activities to promote student health. FSHS offers advice and guidance on healthcare, illness prevention and ways of looking after your health through personal choices and lifestyle.
The FSHS website www.yths.fi/en/frontpage/ includes extensive information about health matters and the contact details and opening hours of health centres in Töölö and Otaniemi, as well as information on booking an appointment and fees. You can also send questions to FSHS online advisors on the website.
You are entitled to use FSHS services after paying the healthcare fee (excluding doctoral students). You can continue accessing the FSHS services after your graduation until the expiry of your student union membership, i.e. until 31 July during the spring term and until 31 December during the autumn term.
The Act on Student Health Services for Students in Higher Education will come into force on 1 January 2021. The healthcare fee for higher education students for the spring term 2021 is payable to Kela. If you register as attending for the spring term at the latest by 31 January, you must pay the healthcare fee to Kela by 31 January. No bill will be sent on the healthcare fee, and thus you have to pay the fee on your own initiative. How to pay the healthcare fee in higher education.
Study Psychologist
The Study Psychologist supports all degree students of Uniarts Helsinki on issues related to learning, studying and study well-being. Common subjects that are discussed at the Study Psychologist’s counselling sessions include challenges with progressing studies, performance anxiety, motivation, time management, procrastination, learning disabilities and questions about being an artist.
Your contact with the Study Psychologist is confidential, voluntary and free of charge. Each session with the Study Psychologist takes 45-60 minutes and the total number of the sessions varies from 1 to max. 5 sessions per student during an academic year. If needed, the student is referred to further support. In urgent and mental health matters, which require health care, please contact the Finnish Student Health Services or the health station of your residential area.
More information on Study Psychologist services and instructions for making an appointment can be found in Artsi: For Students > Everyday Life and Wellbeing > Study psychologist
University Chaplain
With the Uniarts Helsinki Chaplain, you can discuss everything between heaven and earth. Common topics of discussion relate to coping, life situations, interpersonal and relationship problems, and various mental and spiritual issues. The chaplain can be contacted regardless of religious views, denomination or whether you belong to the church or not. The discussions will be held with respect for your beliefs, whatever they are.
More information on the University Chaplain’s services and instructions for making an appointment can be found in Artsi: For Students > Everyday Life and Wellbeing > University Chaplain
Contact persons for inappropriate treatment
There is zero tolerance for inappropriate treatment at the University of the Arts Helsinki, and the university is legally obligated to strive to prevent and eliminate harassment and other inappropriate treatment. If you come across bullying, discrimination, sexual or other harassment or otherwise inappropriate behaviour, you can contact any member of the Uniarts Helsinki staff that you feel comfortable with (e.g. responsible teacher of the course or head of your department) or the equality contact persons (contact details) – heillä on oikeus ja velvollisuus viedä asiaa luottamuksellisesti eteenpäin. Tarkempia tietoja ja toimintaohjeita löytyy University of the Arts Helsinki's guide on Prevention of Inappropriate Treatment.
In addition to the university’s contact persons, study psychologists (see above) offer conversational support, for example, if you are not sure whether some activity is inappropriate. The Student Union has its own designated harassment contact persons, who offer advice, conversational help and peer support in sorting out the matter and taking it forward within the university. Harassment contact persons include students from all three academies and of different genders, but you can contact any of them regardless of academy or gender. Discussions with both study psychologists and harassment contact persons are always confidential.
The contact details for ArtSU’s harassment contact persons can be found on the page Contact Information. Suosittelemme kaikkia myös tutustumaan TaiYo:n asiallisen kohtelun huoneentauluun ”Treat me well”.
Nyyti
Nyyti is an association which promotes students’ mental health by providing versatile information and activities about mental wellbeing and coping with everyday life while studying. You can take part in chats, online discussion groups or Nyyti’s Skills for Life courses. More information on Nyyti’s services and other useful information regarding studying and life in general is available at the Nyyti website www.nyyti.fi/en/.
Unisport
Uniarts Helsinki supports the well-being of attending degree students by subsidizing the use of UniSport’s services. UniSport offers exercise and much more for all ages and fitness levels at Helsinki Centre, Töölö, Kumpula, Meilahti, Viikki and Otaniemi campuses. UniSport offers versatile services in gym training, group training classes, ball sports sessions and club activities, as well as massages, nutrition coaching and personal training. You can find more information on Unisport services, schedules and prices at www.unisport.fi/en.
Students from the Kuopio campus have access to SYKETTÄ – Kuopio Universities’ Sports Services. Further information: https://sykettä.fi/kuopio/en.
Housing
The Foundation for Student Housing in the Helsinki Region (Hoas)
Hoasilla on vuokra-asuntoja ympäri pääkaupunkiseutua. Valtaosa asunnoista on 2-3 huoneen ja keittiön/keittokomeron huoneistoja, jotka soveltuvat sekä perheellisille opiskelijoille että ns. soluasunnoksi toisen opiskelijan kanssa jaettavaksi. Huoneen vuokra on n. 250–450 €/kk ja yksiön tai kaksion 450–850 €/kk asunnon iän ja varustetason mukaan. Hoasilta on mahdollista hakea myös kämppisasuntoa tai perheasuntoa. Hoasin nettisivuilla toimii myös kirpputori (kohdassa Asumisopas), jossa julkaistaan ilmoituksia myytävistä kalusteista. Lisätietoja: www.hoas.fi
Student Nations
Osakunnilla on tarjolla runsaasti kohtuuhintaisia opiskelija-asuntoja Helsingin seudulla. Jotta voit hakea osakunta-asuntoa, sinun täytyy liittyä osakuntaan. Lisätietoja: www.osakunta.fi/osakunnat
Clavis
Clavis on Sibelius-Akatemian opiskelijoille tarkoitettu asuntola Helsingin Etelä-Haagassa. Clavikseen voit hakea asukkaaksi heti kun on hyväksytty Sibelius-Akatemian opiskelijaksi. Asuntoja on kaikkiaan 105 kpl, joista muutama vapautuu vuosittain. Asunnot ovat 18 m2 ja 23 m2 kokoisia yksiöitä, joissa on suihku, WC, minikeittiö ja nettiyhteys. Talossa on sauna, pesutupa, harjoitteluhuoneita, seurustelutilat ja juhlasali. Lisätietoja: www.clavishouse.fi
Other options
Some banks, insurance companies and foundations also have student apartments or halls of residence, and often these have more reasonable rents than free-market apartments. Students are also eligible to apply for city-owned rental apartments. Information on city-owned rental apartments in the Helsinki metropolitan area is available at the following addresses: www.hel.fi/kv/stadinasunnot-fi, www.espoonasunnot.fi and www.vav.fi .
A right-of-occupancy apartment is also one option for your own crib. In addition to the monthly usage fee, 10–15% of the price of the apartment is paid as a right-of-occupancy fee when moving in, which allows you to obtain a permanent right of residence. The right-of-occupancy fee is refunded when moving out. Every locality has its own right-of-occupancy housing queue, just ask for it!
Free market housing can be looked for online from various housing sites (see links below) and social media; there are e.g. several groups on Facebook that share information about vacant rental apartments and rooms in shared flats. It is also worth following the ads in newspapers (both Helsingin Sanomat and local newspapers), and good old bulletin boards can also be a noteworthy forum. You should also take advantage of your network and let people know of your intentions: the more friends or relatives know about your situation, the more can help!
Useful links
www.opiskelija-asunnot.fi
www.nuorisosaatio.fi
www.oikotie.fi
www.etuovi.com
www.vuokraovi.com
www.sato.fi
www.ovv.fi
www.lumo.fi
www.asuntohelppi.fi
www.kimppakamppa.fi
www.oranssi.net
Remember the notification of a change of address
When you permanently relocate to a new place, you must file a notification of change of address to make sure that your mail reaches you and that your Population Register information is up-to-date. Once you have filed the notice, your new address information will be automatically directed to various officials, such as Kela and the tax administration. The easiest way to file the notice is online at https://www.posti.fi/changeaddress/but you can also go to a post office or to the Register Office and fill in the notice in paper form.
NB! Postiin tehdyt muuttoilmoitustiedot eivät välity Taideyliopiston opiskelijarekisteriin, joten huolehdithan että osoitetietosi ovat sielläkin ajan tasalla. Osoitteenmuutoksen voit tehdä helpoiten itse Pepissä.
English (UK) 
Suomi 
Svenska